City's budding theater scene continues to grow

In less than three years, Jacksonville has gained four theater companies whose productions are helping feed a steadily growing audience.

Christopher Thomas - Special to The Daily News

In less than three years, Jacksonville has gained four theater companies whose productions are helping feed a steadily growing audience.

Debbie’s Angels, Legacy Theater Company, Onslow Players and the New River Players of Coastal Carolina Community College are part of the emerging thespian community.

Though Onslow County has lacked options in live theater, it hasn’t been without it. For decades, students at CCCC have put on shows as the Act I Club. Their leader for much of their existence was theater teacher Donald Williams, who arrived at the college in 1985.

For a quarter-century, Williams led the Act I Club and put on a wide range of shows, from dark comedies (Waiting for Godot) and light hearted musicals (Nunsense) to heart breaking dramas (Our Town). Variety was the name of the game for the Act I Club, and Williams didn’t want it any other way.

“I loved every minute of it,” said Williams.

In 2010, Williams went into semi-retirement and took his final bow as the head of the acting group. Though he helped out with a recent CCCC production Williams says he’s leaving the decisions up to his successor, Eric Kildow.

Kildow says he wants to do shows that will entertain, but also challenge the community. Kildow believes more theater is generally a good thing for a town, but can foresee the possibility of trouble coming out of the theater boom Jacksonville is experiencing

“There are so many companies fighting for limited time and resources,” Kildow said. “Everyone wants to be king of their castle.”

Kildow’s New River Players have established themselves as Jacksonville’s “straight theater” company, opting for plays over musicals, a fact that pleases Allie Lovett, who has been in two shows with the New River Players.

“This is a great experience,” Lovett said. “ … I get to delve into something deeper.”

The circumstances that brought the founders of the four Jacksonville community theater companies to town vary. For example, Kildow came to Jacksonville after stints in Savannah, Ga., Raleigh and Lansing, Mich. But perhaps the most urgent story comes from Meme Simmons, founder and director of Debbie’s Angels.

After graduating from Jacksonville High School, Simmons left for New York City to study at the American Music and Drama Academy. Simmons worked on the New York stage and on national tours. In 2007, she was getting ready for another audition when she fell ill and was later diagnosed with lupus. It seemed her theater dreams were shattered when she returned to Jacksonville.

“I was more upset about coming back home than my kidneys,” she said.

Simmons fell deeply into depression for months. Then her minister pushed her back into the theater game by asking her to direct a church production at Sandy Run Baptist Church.

“How could I say no to a pastor?” Simmons asked.

Simmons caught the directing bug and directed five more productions for her church. Her newfound love for directing inspired her to create something she had been thinking about for more than two decades. In 2011, Debbie’s Angels was born. Simmons named the company after her mother, a former officer with the Jacksonville Police Department. According to Simmons, Debbie’s Angels’ brand of “edgy” musical theater entertainment has caught the attention of Eastern North Carolina theatergoers.

“I’ve been going to Debbie’s Angels shows for years now,” New Bern Resident Aaron Williams said. “(Simmons) is a very talented woman.

Williams, an actor in his own right, says he appreciates the quality Debbie’s Angels brings to the region, which he says is hard to find in small town America. Furthermore, Williams believes seeing a show put on by the company is a steal.

“The tickets are cheap and the quality is high,” says Williams.

Bringing culture and theater to Jacksonville is a passion shared by the Legacy Theater Company’s founder, Erika Hose. With the exception of a brief stay in Jacksonville in the mid-80s, Hose spent the first 29 years of her life in New York City, also honing her skills as a performer. She, too, came to Jacksonville in 2007 but by choice instead of necessity

“New York is a very expensive place to raise a family,” said Hose. “When I came for a visit … it just felt like home. My husband agreed and we moved.”

Like Debbie’s Angels, Legacy has its roots in the church. Hose and her husband, James, would put on Easter and Christmas pageants. Soon, though, Hose made a move outside of the church due to the company’s growth. To date, Legacy has outgrown three locations and earlier this month opened its new theater space on Onslow Drive.

“Finding space in Jacksonville that would fit our very unique needs was difficult,” said Hose. “We have an amazing theater … and we cannot wait to share it with our community.”

Volunteers from the community are the backbone of all the community theater companies in Jacksonville.

“Volunteers are the heartbeat of Legacy,” Hose said. “Everyone who is involved at Legacy, including myself, at this time is a volunteer.”

Legacy’s most prominent volunteering corps is its actors. Since December, Nikki Dyba has been one of those actors. Her path to Legacy started in her youth across the Atlantic Ocean.

“I used to sing in a band in London,” Dyba said. “Years later, I took lessons with Erika and she told me about (Legacy).”

Dyba describes her experience as “rewarding” on multiple levels, especially in regard to the standard of shows Legacy puts on.

“My mother is an avid theater patron,” Dyba said. “She said these shows could be on West End.”

The companies have gotten off to an ambitious start with the hopes that theater — and audiences — will be around for the long term.

Simmons has a full schedule coming up with a performing arts camp in June and Broadway Jr. for the kids as well as a new edition of Broadway after Dark for the adults.

“We’re going to have some dance numbers, more racy songs and more new talent,” Simmons said.

Hose hopes Legacy becomes a regional theater company that offers Jacksonville a broader range of entertainment.

“I see Legacy becoming a place where concerts are given and events are held,” said Hose “I see a larger building in our future and I am excited about the possibilities.”

Shaun Moe, who is doubling as head of the Onslow Players and choir director at Jacksonville High School, wants to put on challenging, adult oriented shows like Rent as well as family-friendly mainstream shows like Oliver and Annie.

“I’m trying to reach people that can’t go to Raleigh or Durham to see a show,” Moe said. “I want to inspire kids. I want families to take their kids.”

Moe says that every cent the Onslow Players make goes toward paying for the next show and that the company’s first show was financed entirely by him — a move he does not regret.

“I am my own best investment,” said Moe. “I’m a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ kind of person.”

Though resources are limited, the companies try to help sustain each other in their love of theater.

“The more we support each other, the more we create a unified front,” Moe said.